


Christmas Trees

by Hisa_Ai



Series: 31 Days of Christmas [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: 31 Days of fic, Christmas, Christmas Tree, Christmas prompts, Day 2, M/M, Modern Day, Prompt Fic, Yule, christmas trees
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-02
Updated: 2013-12-02
Packaged: 2018-01-03 08:30:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1068281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hisa_Ai/pseuds/Hisa_Ai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur wants a real Christmas tree this year, but since Merlin's none too keen on the idea, he makes things harder than they need to be, resulting in a dreadful threat and a kiss in the snow interrupted by an odd old man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Trees

* * *

 

"Arthur, this is stupid!" Merlin whined, resisting Arthur's tug on his hand and dragging his heels through the freshly fallen snow. Arthur rolled his eyes and grinned back at him, tugging still on his hand to drag him deeper through the Christmas tree lot.

Merlin was there against his will, having been tricked into the car and then blackmailed out of it once they arrived at the destination. A place Merlin hated and saw little point in: A Christmas tree farm.

Arthur had been begging and plotting and threatening and bargaining and trying every other trick in the book to get Merlin to get a  _real_  Christmas tree for years now, but every year Merlin made a better case than Arthur—both in  _and_  outside of the bedroom—and they stuck with the faux trees and a slightly disgruntled Arthur.

But this year, oh  _this year_  Arthur had resisted Merlin's persuasion, had kept away from the discussions and arguments and had just  _acted_. He just went for what he wanted without so much as a hint or suggestion that this year would be any different from years passed. And if Merlin weren't so utterly  _floored_  by the situation, he might have been impressed by it.

"Come on,  _Mer_ lin. One year will not kill you." Arthur insisted, still tugging Merlin forward as he gave nearby trees passing glances.

"No, just a tree." Merlin grumbled in response, yanking his hand out of Arthur's grasp and shoving it into his jeans pocket. He knew enough to realize he wasn't going to win this one—not this time, not now that they were actually at the lot—that Arthur was finally going to get the real Christmas tree he had always wanted. But he didn't have to like it.

"If we don't buy it, someone else will anyway," Arthur pointed out, stopping to inspect a tree on his right. "At least with us it'll have a good home."

Merlin rolled his eyes as he strolled over to Arthur's side and matched his pace as he moved on to a new one. Absentmindedly, Arthur looped his arm through Merlin's and tucked his hand into his pocket, weaving amongst the trees connected.

"We're buying a Christmas tree, not adopting from a puppy mill, you dollop-head." Merlin sighed.

Arthur grinned once again at his words, and Merlin found himself thinking that if looking at Christmas trees was all it took for Arthur to light up like that, he should look into starting his own tree lot next year.

"So we  _are_  getting one!" Arthur exclaimed, triumphant.

"Yes,  _fine_ , we might as well since we're already here anyway," he sighed again, grinning himself when Arthur turned and pressed a kiss to his lips before going back to looking through the trees. All around them, there were other couples and families inspecting trees as well, all giddy with the excitement of picking out a tree and getting it home to decorate.

Of course, the main difference between the people around them and  _them_  was that everyone else seemed to know what they were doing. Having never had a real Christmas tree before—Merlin's mother didn't like cleaning up all the pine needles that inevitably got everywhere and Arthur's sister Morgana was allergic to them—neither of them knew what they were doing. If Arthur was going to pull something like this, the least he could have done was brought Gwaine or Lancelot or someone who knew what they were doing so they didn't look too stupid.

"Do you even know what you're looking for?" Merlin asked after several minutes of Arthur glancing at trees that all looked the same to Merlin anyway and moving on, mumbling under his breath about fullness and loss of needles and sap for some unholy reason that Merlin didn't quite want to ask about.

"A Christmas tree. Honestly, Merlin, don't you pay any attention?" Arthur chided playfully, coming to stop in front of a tree that seemed to have caught his eye. Merlin didn't get  _why_ , as it seemed like every other tree they'd seen so far, but Arthur seemed to like it. He unhooked his arm from Merlin's and walked around it, pursing his lips as he reached out and touched the bark, the needles, shook the tree, inspected it from every angle possible until finally he turned back to Merlin with a wide smile on his face, arms outstretched as though presenting it to him.

"This is it, Merlin. This is our tree," he explained when he was met with a blank stare. Merlin approached the tree slowly and looked at it. There was nothing different about this one, nothing that made it stand out from all the others, so what the hell did Arthur love so much about it?

"You're sure?" Merlin asked.

"'Course I am. Isn't it beautiful? Don't you think it'll look lovely in the sitting room?"

" _Lovely?_  Did you just use the word  _lovely_  to describe a tree? Are you feeling all right? Sure you're not allergic, too? That sort of thing runs in families, you know." Merlin said, still not quite getting it. It was a  _tree_  and Arthur was acting like it was the goblet of life itself.

"It's our first real Christmas tree, Merlin, don't you want it to be special?" Arthur demanded, suddenly offended. Merlin resisted the urge to roll his eyes, knowing that would make the situation no better. He was upset that Merlin wasn't as passionate about a Christmas tree as he was? Merlin might have to check on the eggnog when they returned home to see just how much of the stuff Arthur had been drinking...

"Yeah, sure, I guess," he shrugged, pretending to inspect the tree as Arthur had.

" _Mer_ lin, come on, don't you like it? If you don't like it we can find another one," Arthur offered.

"No, no, it's... it's  _fine_ , Arthur. Let's just get it and go," he jerked his head towards the way they'd come.

"What's wrong with it?" Arthur sighed.

"Nothing, Arthur,  _nothing_. It's beautiful and lovely and all that fun stuff. You picked the perfect tree, okay?" Merlin insisted, trying to placate him so they could just  _go_. He didn't know why he was so ready to leave all of a sudden, why he was pulling a stunt like this; two minutes ago he'd actually been having a nice time walking around with Arthur at his side, looking at the trees that all looked the same, moreorless.

Arthur pulled a face, lips pursed once again as he stood with his hands on his hips and considered Merlin and the tree.

Merlin blinked, and then he was on the ground, having been tackled by Arthur onto the cold ground that was only sort of blanketed with soft snow that somehow didn't knock the breath out of him.

" _What—_ "

"Tell me what's wrong with the tree, Merlin, or so help me I will shove snow down your pants," Arthur threatened, scooping up a handful of powder white snow from next to Merlin's head.

Merlin's eyes widened, not sure if he'd really do it or not. He'd shoved snow down the back of his shirt plenty of times before, as Merlin had done to him, but the only time he'd ever shoved snow down his pants was when Merlin had left the garage door open on accident and Arthur's prized motorcycle was stolen. It was later returned by Gwaine, who had taken it to teach them not to leave their doors open, but Merlin still remembered that day with horror. Never before had he felt such a bitter cold pain, and he never again did he want to.

But would Arthur really do that to him? Over a  _tree?_

Yes. Probably  _yes_.

" _Nothing_. There's nothing wrong with the tree, Arthur." Merlin gasped, eyeing the snow still in Arthur's hand.

"Are you sure?" Arthur asked suspiciously, inching the snow nearer and nearer to the waistband of his jeans.

"Yes, yes—I'm  _sure,_ Arthur. Now let me up." Merlin insisted, swallowing as Arthur inched his shirt and jacket up a bit. Some of the snow slipped from his hand and fell on Merlin's exposed skin, making him gasp in surprise at the contact with his warm skin. He hissed when Arthur wouldn't wipe it away, when he wouldn't let his hands move to wipe it away on his own. Sadistic bastard.

"Sure?" he asked again.

" _Yes_. It's the best tree in the universe and only one with your eye could have spotted it. We'll get it and take it home and build a shrine around it attesting to your perfection and grace, all right? Now let me  _up_ ," Merlin repeated, rolling his eyes in agitation when Arthur just 'hmm'ed at him and positioned himself so he was straddling Merlin. He let the snow fall from his hand to the ground, narrowly missing Merlin's hip, and grinned suddenly. Merlin swallowed, ah, he recognized  _that_  look...

Slowly, Arthur leaned down and placed his cold and wet gloved hand on Merlin's cheek, felt him shiver under his touch and kissed him slowly, deeply.

"Not so sure about putting the shrine around the tree. In the bedroom maybe, or the dining room, but not by the tree; I want people to see it in all its glory," he grinned against Merlin's lips before drawing him to him again, catching his lower lip between both of his. Merlin just shook his head, mumbled an insult against his lips before letting his eyes slip shut and Arthur tangle one of his hands in his hair.

Sensing an opportunity, Merlin let his free hand work around in the snow near him, grabbed a handful and then—

" _Ahem_ ," An elderly male voice interrupted from just behind them. Arthur popped up and off Merlin in a flash, leaving Merlin with a handful of snow and no one to use it against. Frowning, he let his hand fall to the ground and watched Arthur approach the man he recognized from the front of the lot, the one who was running the place

"Right, uhm, we'll take this one." Arthur gestured at the tree he'd picked out, and then haggled the price with the man, giving Merlin no help in pulling himself to his feet and dusting whatever snow hadn't already soaked through his clothes off.

_Well_ , if that was how tree shopping was going to go, Merlin might just have to start insisting on going  _every_  year.

* * *

 


End file.
